Mine
by ItsNotAPennameItsAPseudonym
Summary: (post BD with changes, jacob x oc, !sisfic) Aria Swan moved away the second she graduated high school just to forget Jacob Black and try to build her own problem free life. And for almost 2 years, that worked out great.. But when her life's falling apart and she finds herself back in Forks, living with her father, pregnant and bitter from a failed love, what will Jacob's return do?
1. prologue

"_All of a sudden it's not gravity holding you to the world anymore, it's her. You would do anything, be anything.. For her" - Jacob Black_

_|| PROLOGUE ||_

_He was the center of my universe and he had no clue, really. All he's ever seen was my stupid twin sister, Bella. All he's ever cared about was her, really. So, I guess you could say that I was sort of invisible, for lack of a better word... Which I can admit, yes, it hurt me. It drove me insane watching him losing it over Bella and her thing with the thing I call a brother in law, Edward Cullen._

_But I'm really not the kind of girl who will let things bug me for too long, and true to form, I decided not to let this one thing bug me, either.. well, not so badly that it made me a crazy and messed up basket case who blamed and hated my sister like most girls probably would've.. What would the point have been in that, really? I mean I already dislike her, but in no way am I even a little bit jealous of her... I mean come on... Edward Cullen? The guy's a prick if I do say so myself. And she's too damn uptight to have friends or any real semblance of a life or anything, so... My grades weren't as stellar as hers but I did my best and I knew that was __**all I could do**__.. As far as family? I got used to them preferring my sister over me a long time ago, so I didn't and still don't even bother trying to please them or act out to get their attention.._

_If they can't love and support me for me, really, why bother with them? Just love them for what they are and deal with the rest, I'd think.. No sense in forcing people to actually want to love you or be close to you. I've never been a very big fighter, if you can't tell.. I'm more or less the one who will avoid someone for years rather than have that one huge fight to end all fights.. It hurts one hell of a lot less._

_Instead of moping in my room and suffering in silence, I got out of Washingtonand away from all the negativity in my life.. Because I knew if I didn't, I'd never actually have a good life.. Or any kind of actual happiness.. And I swore I'd never ever go back.. I stopped letting things bother me and the way I saw it, honestly? If my family and the guy I loved wanted to be all about Bella?_

_Let them.. What the hell did I really care? I'm mature enough to know that I'll be fine __**without**__ anyone. I can take care of me, I've always been good at taking care of me.. And while I was living in Biloxi, I thought I was so much more mature, so much more above all of the drama that her royal craziness loved to wallow in. I built my confidence up, I built my own identity, I finally had my own life and my own support system.. I worked for my own money, I got a pretty damn decent student apartment, then an internship, then I met a (supposedly) great guy.._

_Or at least I thought I did.. Then Fate did what it's known universally for doing, and it knocked me right back on my ass, showed me I was maybe getting too comfortable, too happy and too settled with my lot in life.. It started when I met that so called great guy, ironically.. I guess I should have just quit while I was ahead but nooooo... All I saw was this perfect man who actually loved me for me and actually wanted me.._

_Or so I thought.. Turns out that man only wanted to be with me because I wasn't as secure as I thought I was and I was pliable, easily molded.. And I was making a killing at my jobs and I had a nice little setup on the beach.. And he was a user.. I let him use me (and I hate to admit it, but towards the end, abuse me) and that still sickens me, even now.. Especially now, especially when I finally see him for the piece of shit monster he is and I'm carrying his child.._

_Naturally, any mark I made in my academic achievements is gone now, pregnant girls keeping scholarships? Right, like that really happens.. I lost my internship slot and I lost at least two of the scholarships I'd worked my ass off to get in the first place.. But I'm not giving up.. I'll raise my kid and go to college, girls do it all the damn time.. Just because I will be a mom soon, that doesn't mean that I have to give up and abandon my life plan, does it?_

_I didn't think so._

_And then, naturally, after the loss of my internship, my so called love life and my college hopes, everything else was gone too and all I could think about was how much I missed my dad, how much I wished that I was a kid again and he could save my ass.. But I was mature enough to know that __**I wasn't**__ and __**he couldn't**__.. But I could fix things with my family, because frankly, I missed them.. Even if they didn't miss me, not even a little, not even at all.._

_I even missed my sister.. Which is a first because she and I have never actually gotten along that well, our relationship as siblings worsened, actually, when she was torn between two men... Because it infuriated the crap out of me that someone can be that indecisive, ya know? That she'd actually hurt a good guy, a guy who's been nothing but there for her, supportive of her, catered to her, no matter what ridiculous shit she pulled.. _

_Kinda funny, isn't it? The second you swear you will not ever do something again, it's the first thing you usually wind up doing when your entire world falls to pieces at your feet. So as mine tumbled down around me, I did what any other girl in my situation would do.. I went where I was most comfortable. I went to my safety zone.._

_I went back to Forks with my father..._

_And that's when things took a pretty unexpected turn...Okay, screw pretty unexpected turn, because what wound up happening to me? Never in a million years did I think it would.. I'd given up on Jacob Black... I'd given up on pretty much anything I might have once hoped for in the future.. I came back to Forks with no expectations and what wound up happening to me actually kinda surpassed even my wildest dreams.. But this is my happy ever after.. Sort of.._


	2. chapter one

_|| CHAPTER ONE ||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

He flopped down in his favorite recliner and turned on the television, intent on watching a few mind numbing hours of sports. Being a confirmed bachelor who was living alone, Charlie Swan often got to do this on nights he wasn't needed at the station.

He enjoyed it, but all in the same, he dreaded it.. His daughter, Bella, was off living in some remote town in Alaska, she'd been living there since she'd married the jerk that Charlie now called son, Edward Cullen, and had his first grandchild.

Aria, his other daughter, the youngest in the set of twins by about 5 or 6 minutes, give or take, she lived in Biloxi and went to some college there. When she wasn't in class, she was working at a local hospital where she had an internship, or doing community service, which she seemed to like doing, she'd always liked to help people who needed it. As far as their conversations went, the last one they'd had, which was around Friday of the week before this one, she seemed okay..

He sensed unhappiness, but he didn't call her out on it. She hardly had anything to do with any of them anymore, she hadn't since she'd made the move to Biloxi almost three days after her high school graduation. He'd never understood why she couldn't go to Port Angeles University, live there, with him, and intern at the hospital in Forks, but he'd begrudgingly let her go.

After all, she'd been nowhere near the handful Bella turned into after she met the Cullen guy she wound up marrying and Charlie trusted his daughter Aria to make grown up decisions, take care of herself.. It'd always been Bella he'd worried about because she couldn't make a decision correctly to save her life, this much became apparent when she actually married Edward Cullen.. Right after her own graduation, forgoing any and all hopes and expectations that he and Renee had for her.

She seemed content too, she called a lot, they were closer now than they had been in a while, actually.

What bugged him was why Aria seemed distant now. Why she'd seemed distant for the better part of almost 3 years... He got the feeling that something happened that he hadn't been made aware of, as was usually the case with Bella's little 'secrets'.

Nothing like discovering your daughter wasn't even a living person anymore to make you wonder where you went wrong, really, and he hated that she'd thrown her life away on Edward, but in the same token, he was happy that she finally seemed happy, she finally seemed at peace with herself.

Aria got the brunt of his worries now, even if he didn't voice them to her when they spoke on the phone. She'd always been the blunt daughter, the daughter who would not hesitate to come to her parents if she got into something over her head.

It'd rarely happened, but he knew Aria (or he liked to think he did, lately, with all these new discoveries about the world he lived in, he just wasn't too sure of anything anymore) and he wanted her to know he trusted her, that he was letting her at least give this college in another state thing a proper try.

Tonight though, as he settled into his supposedly mindless few hours of sports television, he found himself plagued with the urge to at least call Aria and see if she were as okay as she claimed to be the last time they spoke..

Something about the way her voice cracked while they'd been talking kept sticking at him, kept making his paternal 'spidey senses' tingle, for lack of a better term.

Something had been off with Aria and that's what made him stand and walk towards the phone that sat on it's charging base right next to his gun and badge on the table in the hallway nearest his front door. He picked it up and held it, was about to dial Aria's number when the phone rang in his hand.

"Hello?"

"Dad? I... I want to talk to you.. You're still up, right?" Aria asked nervously as she pulled a black Eclipse convertible onto the street her father lived on, the street she never thought, no the street she'd sworn to herself she'd never lay eyes on again because of everything that happened and all the negativity there..

But Bella had been the sole cause of all the bad vibes and Bella was gone now.. And Aria?

She needed stability, she needed support and she wanted to fix her relationships with her family.. She'd already spent a few days in Florida with Renee and Phil, then a few in Alaska with Bella and her husband, their family, and now, she had one place left to go..

Her final destination, actually.. She was going to tell her father everything, starting with why she left and why she wanted to come home.. And she was doing this in the hopes that he'd understand and not be disappointed in her.

Both her mother and her twin sister seemed to think he wouldn't, but Aria hadn't ever really gotten herself in quite this deep before.. She sighed as her father said "I'm s till awake, why?"

"Because I'm about to pull into the driveway, Dad.I came... I mean I want to come home.. It's not forever, I just... Things didn't go like I hoped.. Nothing I planned on doing worked out for me.. things went horribly wrong, actually.."

Charlie sighed and said quietly, "I knew there was something wrong with you the last time we talked. I'm gonna go cut on the porch light and unlock the place. This is home, Aria.. Why in the hell would you think you have to ask if it's okay for you to come back?"

"I just.. I figured that maybe I'd be in the way or something.. I don't honestly know, Dad.. I don't know much of anything right now and I thought I knew it all when I left." Aria said as she took a few deep breaths and stopped the car in front of the house, got out on very shaky legs.

She was afraid and hurt and alone and bitter.. She'd literally lost everything a girl could lose in the space of a week or so.. things had happened to her that she'd never thought she'd be stupid enough to be sucked into.. But when she finally realized what was going on and just what was at stake... She wasted no time in getting out of a nightmarish situation..

She was thinking about more than just herself now, after all.

She'd already made one mistake too many for this baby she carried. She didn't want to completely make a mess of things before it came into the world.

"You can do this.." she muttered as confidently as she could muster before walking into the house and hugging her father. Th e second his arms were around her, everything came pouring out.. And by the end of it, she felt more than a little relieved that it was finally all out there.

Charlie studied his daughter intently and said calmly, "But you're done.. Right? With this Adam jerk?"

She nodded and said quietly, "I'm not raising my kid in that. You and Renee didn't raise me and Bella in a bad situation, sir, I can handle this alone."

"You won't have to.. You're my daughter and I'm going to be right here with you.. Just like the time I tried to teach you and your sister how to ride the bikes we got you without training wheels.. Remember how scared you were? And what I told you?"

Aria nodded solemnly and then biting her lower lip she sighed as she said "I talked to Renee and to Bella.. I.. I just thought maybe I should fix everything.. Maybe it was time I stopped running and started dealing with things.. I mean I've tried the running thing, look how far it got me."

Her father nodded and said quietly, "So.. Do you know what you're having yet?"

"A little boy. I was going to wait, but when the doctor said that I was far enough along that she might be able to pick up gender in a sonogram, I went for it.. The doctor said that I was going to have a little boy.." Aria admitted, pausing to take a sip of the tea her father had obviously poured for her just after she'd hung up with him before arriving at his house.

He nodded and smiled then said "Don't worry.. I'm going to support your decision. And I'm going to help you as much as I can." and hugged her against him.

"So.. It's okay, right? Me moving back in here?"

"Did you really have to ask that?" Charlie asked his daughter as a wolf howled in the distance. Aria rubbed her arms and said quietly, "I see they're still doing the patrol thing." as Charlie nodded and said "Apparently so.. I mean the others, yeah.. Jacob's gone, he's been gone for almost 2 years now."

Aria nodded quietly and for a split second, she wondered what he was doing right now, if he was happy, if his life was at least a little better than her own had turned out to be.

And she really wondered what if she'd stuck around? What if she'd fought harder to make him notice her and want her?

But she quickly and bitterly put those thoughts out of her head.

The wolf gave one more long howl and she and Charlie started to get engrossed in a game on tv, laughing when her father raised a brow and said "When did you become a sports fan?"

Aria shrugged and then said casually, "I went to a few minor league baseball games.. Remember? That's kinda how I met Adam the asshole."

"Yeah.. And I wish I could get my hands on that little jerk now. I wanted to at Thanksgiving when you called and I heard him mouthing off in the background about how it made no sense for you two to stay here for a week or two."

"Yeah, I wish I'd been smart enough to see how controlling he was then. I never would have wasted the time.." Aria admitted as she sighed heavily and then stood and said "I'm gonna go up to bed.. Good night, Dad."

He'd only intended on coming back just long enough to tell Sam and the others his decision to remain a wolf and never shift back to human form... But then he'd caught this cotton candy sweet scent on the late evening breeze and naturally, the wolf in him demanded he follow the trail of this scent.. As he did, he found himself going back over what he'd heard Sam thinking earlier, about what Bella apparently made a special call just to tell Sam..

Some vision or something Alice had, Jacob didn't knowand personally didn't care. Being a wolf was easier than being a human, really. He didn't have to love someone who either didn't love him in return, or wasn't there for him to love.

Because he'd realized too late, just hearing her name, just hearing that she was gone now, living in Biloxi or something last he heard, that somewhere along the way, somewhere during the crazy roller coaster ride that had been his up and down thing with Bella.. He'd fallen for her non identical twin sister, Aria. And when he'd finally decided to tell her, and he'd actually imprinted on her, he showed up at Charlie's house exactly an hour too late.

That'd been almost 3 years ago, maybe closer to two and she hadn't set foot back in Forks since.. He personally thought that maybe it was the shock of discovering what he was and the constant seeing Bella with him, the way he seemed to always wind up smack in the middle of Bella's needy crap.

After she left, he'd distanced himself from all of them, pack included. He wanted no part in protecting anything like the Cullens or Bella.. He'd personally rather rip them all limb from limb and burn them now. But apparently, whatever Bella called specifically to tell Sam Uley earlier now had the entire pack out in the woods, sesarching for him.

And currently, he stood in the treeline just near Charlie Swan's house. And the smell was heavy, sweet.. It was almost intoxicating, really, and his mouth wouldn't stop watering.. The upstairs light in Bella and Aria's old room came on and the shadow cast by the solid blind over the window was enough to make him groan to himself as he watched her.

He knew it had to be Aria, the tags on the car nearby had a Mississippi plate. But the question remained... What on earth was she doing home?

And why was her smell so sweet and heavy?

The blind came open and he saw her s taring out the window.. Her eyes looked red almost like she'd been crying. Before he could howl again, the blind was shut and the light was off.

"Guess I'll have to go find Sam, the bastard, if I want to know what the actual fuck is going on and what it's got to do with me." he mumbled to himself as he phased back to human form and hurriedly ran to a house nearby, stole some jeans and a t shirt.

He hadn't been home in almost 3 years.. But tonight he was coming home.. If this was one of Bella's games, he'd kill her..

But smelling Aria's scent again after all this time just confirmed it.. Aria was his.. She was supposed to be his and naturally, he'd thrown it all away, stupidly.

He'd let her leave without any real kind of fight.

Hell, he'd even left himself.

But he was back now.. And so was she.. maybe things would finally get fixed?


	3. chapter two

_|| CHAPTER TWO ||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

The sunlight stung her eyes which were dry and sore from crying almost half the night before. As if things couldn't get anymore annoying to a self proclaimed late riser, her cell phone was going off, vibrating from where she'd put the damn thing on silent the night before when a number she didn't actually know kept calling her and breathing, hanging up.

"Rise and shine." her twin deadpanned as she sat up in their old bed and stretched before answering grimly, "Fuck you, Bella. You know I hate waking up early. What's up?" as she pulled herself to a sitting position and felt around for the t shirt she'd somehow managed to come out of while sleeping the night before. Her twin sister chuckled and then said solemnly, "Just wanted to forewarn you.. Alice had a vision."

"And? It's my business because? You know I don't believe in that crap. I mean yeah, getting me to believe they were vampires was hard.. That mind reading and vision seeing crap? I will never buy into it."

"Because it's not scientific, right?" Bella finished her twin's sentence as Aria grumbled "Something like that, smartass." and pulled the t shirt down over her head as she found it. She'd forgotten how chilly fall mornings in Washington could be, in all honesty, with the way the weather was, she was beginning to have her serious doubts about her sanity when she'd packed her clothing and things to make the trip to her father's house.

"Anyway, Alice had avision.. About you.. And a shapeshifter."

"Whoa, stop right there.. Look, Bella, I know you mean well.. I know you're the motherfucking picture of domestic bliss.. But really, I'm fine the way I am. I don't want or need more heartache and disappointment in my life, okay? I'm gonna..." Bella butted in to add "You're going to what, Aria? Stick your head in the sand? Forget everything you told me you still feel for him?"

"Huh?"

"Jacob, moron.. Good god, go pour yourself some coffee and wake up already." Bella said quietly as Aria grumbled, probably more swears if Bella had to actually guess, and then said solemnly, "Not all of us get happiness and sunshineand rainbows and shit. I'm content as I am."

"You're not content. I bet right now, you're lying in bed.. At exactly 11:07 am, with tissues surrounding you. And a battered edition of either Wuthering Heights or Pride and Predjudice nearby. If memory serves, Aria, that's how you always coped when you were upset. You retreated."

"And you fucking didn't? Hello, your boyfriend deserts you in the fucking woods and you curl up there.. For two days.. Meanwhile, Bella, us sane people are going sick with worry.. At least I'm just sticking my head in the sand, sister.. My way of coping isn't going to make the entire god damn free world miserable." which made Bella sigh and shake her head then say calmly, "I'm going to tell you about the vision whether you want me to hear it or not."

The dial tone was the next thing that Bella heard and she scowled sourly at the phone for about ten minutes before shrugging it off.. If Aria wanted to bury her head in the sand, let her.. But if Alice had seen things correctly, sooner or later -_knowing Jacob and his lack of patience when he really, really wanted something to happen, her personal bets were on sooner-_, things were going to happen and Aria just wasn't going to be allowed to bury her head in the sand anymore.

"You've done all you can do." Edward replied from across their breakfast nook as he looked at her and managed a smile before adding, "It's more fun this way."

"Not really, no.. Trust me, I know my twin, Edward.. This is going to be about as much fun for the poor guy as a trip to the dentist for a root canal.. You heard everything she told me when she came here to stay a while and clear the air between us."

"And if it's meant to be, Bella, it will happen. We're in Alaska, there's really not much we can do to help things along."

"True, but.. It's just I love my sister and I loved Jacob, I still love him as a friend.. And if they can both be happy together.." Bella mused as she stared out the window and at the gentle pale sunrise. If Aria was going to be stubborn then how the hell were things finally supposed to fix themselves?

And why did she have a brief and fleeting pang of jealousy for her twin's simple and silly mortal problems, anyway? She'd chosen the life she wanted and for the most part, she was content... Every now and then, however, a stray what if would wander into her head and she'd wind up obsessing over it all day. Today, apparently, was going to be one of those days.

Aria sat on the bed in her old bedroom, scowling at the phone when the downstairs doorbell rang. She raised a brow but remembered that her father was still sleeping and quickly grabbed the first thing she could find as passable for a shirt, an old one she'd sort of stolen from Jacob back when they'd been friends, back before she finally couldn't take anymore and she'd left just to get away from the bizarre triangle he let himself be roped into over and over.

It never occurred to her that Jacob Black would be the person knocking on her father's door at 11:15 on a Saturday.

If she'd had an inkling, she'd have at least put on pajamas or something.

She jogged down the stairs and opened the door a crack and promptly gasped as she set her first sight on an older and definitely more ruggedly handsome Jacob Black. For a moment, she wanted to smile, but instead she remarked dryly, 'You let your hair grow back."

Jacob nodded. The tension was so thick between them you could almost reach out and pluck a handful out of the air. He stifled a lump in his throat and a groan that tried to fight it's way to the surface when he realized she was actually sleeping.. And apparently, in one of his old and long forgotten sleeveless t shirts. He couldn't help but let his eyes roam over her body slowly, lick his lips as he finally coughed and said "Yeah.. I heard you were back in town.. Now maybe you can explain to me why in the hell you leave without even a goodbye or a text or something?"

Aria stared at him a moment, slowly a dull smirk crept onto her full lips as she bit her lower lip and answered quietly, "Wasn't aware that I had to clear anything with you, Jacob."

"You could've said goodbye." Jacob argued.

"Fine.. Goodbye." Aria said as she shut the door and slid down, sitting in the hardwood floor in front of it. He knocked and she grumbled.

Why the hell did he care now?

Why the hell did her heart skip a beat because he cared now?

"It's the damn horomones. That's all.. It doesn't help that he's always been sexy and very aware of it, very able to use that damn sexiness as a weapon or something. And those eyes, ughhh.. " she grumbled to herself as a warning.

Her sister's odd phone call came back to her at that particular moment and she wondered if Jacob weren't the shifter in question that Alice had a vision about her with.. Now she was curious and kicking herself for hanging up on her twin.

Why hadn't she just humored her?

_'Because, Aria, you fucking idiot.. You've never stopped loving the damn guy.. Problem is, he's never actually loved you.. Not even a little. And he's always chosen Bella over you. If she were free right now? He wouldn't be standing on your father's porch making an issue as to why you chose to leave without telling him goodbye.' _her thankfully practical mind insisted while the other part of it insisted _**'Open the damn door.. There was something in his eyes.. Just like that night you went to him and laid it all out on the line then ran out of his house like the big chickenshit you're known for being, Aria.. He had that look again. If you don't open the damn door, Aria, you'll never know and you'll always wonder..' **_

She sighed as Jacob called out through the door, "C'mon.. Just open the door, okay? All I wanna do is see you.. I want to talk to you.. About that last night I did actually see you."

"Go away, Jacob. I'm too broken now, okay? Just leave.. Leave me alone right now. I cannot have this discussion with you.. Especially not right now." Aria called out as Jacob grumbled, shuffled his feet and glared at the door.

Apparently, this was going to be much more complicated than he'd originally thought. It was a good thing, he reckoned, that he was up for a good challenge, and as stubborn as he'd always been.

Then again, Bella had warned Sam that in order for this all to work itself out, things weren't going to be a walk in the park.

"Sooner or later, Aria, we're going to have to talk about why things got left the way they did."

The door flung open and Aria glared up at him, a hand tangled in her distractingly long and wavy hair as she said sourly, "Talk about why.. Jacob Ephiram Black, get off my fucking porch now.. Things got left the way they did, okay, because you didn't want to hear anything I had to say then. This does not give you the right to come around 3 years later and demand answers. You made your choice, I made mine."

"And obviously, neither of them were the right one." Jacob argued as she fought to shut the door and he stopped her from properly doing so, earning him probably the dirtiest look she'd given him to date.

And she gave dirty looks a lot when people irritated her.

"It gives me every right and you know it, Aria.. You don't just climb through a guy's window, half drunk and totally out of it, throw yourself at the guy, offer up a journal in which you describe in great detail every dirty little thing you want to do to said guy and not expect him to be stunned. And then you run like hell?" Jacob argued as she grumbled and said "And naturally, you're still as dense as ever. If you'd really cared to know me then, Jacob, you'd have seen it.. As for now? Trust me when I say this.. You do not want me.. I'm done with love. I'm done with putting myself out there and getting fucked over. Now go home." before finally exerting every last bit of energy she had to shut the damn door properly.

He stood glaring at the closed door, scratching his head. Okay, so he'd tried the direct approach.. And as predicted, it'd blown up right in his face.. Now he had to fight his way in.. maybe he'd be a lot more patient and subtle..

He'd try but he couldn't promise.. He'd been without her for almost 3 years now and it was killing him slowly. Now that she was back, naturally, he wanted the pain to end. He wanted to make her his and he was now more than willing to do everything it took to make that happen.


	4. chapter three

_|| CHAPTER THREE ||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

"Are you sure it's a good idea, this registering for college and looking for a job? Aren't you supposed to avoid any and all stress?" her father asked as she bit her lower lip and continued scanning the classifieds before finally taking a bite of toaster strudel and responding calmly, "It's not stress, Charlie, if it's something I wanted to do to begin with. Besides, did you really think I was going to lay around here and be a lazy potato?" before looking up at him. He nodded and said pointedly, "You already clean this house almost top to bottom, Aria."

"Yes, Charlie, I realize this.. But I think that if I were too stressed, sir, I'd know it." Aria started as she reached out for another toaster strudel. The sound of a motorcycle stopping in the driveway had her rolling her eyes and saying "And there is my only real stressor, right there. Jacob Black, ladies and gentlemen." as Charlie chuckled and pointed out, "Correct me if I'm wrong.. But didn't you have this seriously huge crush on him not so long ago?"

"I grew out of it. Or I'm trying to grow out of it. I've made more than enough mistakes to scar my unborn kid for life.. Not going to fall for that guy again, nope, not gonna happen." Aria insisted calmly as she stood and took her plate to the kitchen, watching Jacob through the window, brow raised. "Explain to me what the fucking hell he's doing.. Under the hood of my car, sir?"

"I told him your check engine light came on yesterday when you and Angela were on the way back from Port Angeles, that doctors trip.. Speaking of, why haven't you just told the poor guy what's going on? Why won't you talk to him?"

"I do talk, sir.. Not my fault he doesn't listen worth a shit just like usual." Aria insisted as she watched Jacob silently, her teeth grazing her lower lip, her hand in her hair, distracted by him as he did whatever he was doing to her car. When he stepped back, wiping his brow and swearing at the car she laughed a little to herself and walked to their refridgerator, grabbed a beer. Charlie smiled to himself as he pretended to read the newspaper. If he and Billy kept shoving the two stubborn hard heads they knew as their children in each other's path.. Sooner or later that old spark would be back and burning brighter than ever, right?

The door to the house banged shut and Aria walked purposely towards Jacob, tapping his shoulder. When Jacob turned around, grease streak on his face, she bit her lower lip and tried to fight the sudden horomone surge that seeing him apparently gave her in her current pregnant state. Everything about the guy screamed sex, especially now that he'd let his hair grow out, he had at least a five o clock shadow's worth of stubble on a very slimmed down and masculine face.

Really, had her sister been an idiot? she found herself wondering as he looked at her, brow raised, wondering why she'd come out as if she had a purpose, something on her mind yet now apparently, she was just standing there, watching him quietly and intently.

"You didn't have to come over and work on the car." Aria finally managed to say as Jacob studied her and said quietly, " Is that beer for me, maybe?" while barely hiding his usual infectious and bright grin. Aria held it out and then stood there a few moments, looking at him. "Sorry about the other day.. It's just.. I kinda figured maybe you forgot all about that night?"

"Actually, I didn't. And it made me realize things."

"Right.. Bet you use that line on all the dim witted girls who break into your room at night drunk off their asses and try and tell you things like..." Aria trialed off, voice dropping dangerously low, almost whisperlike as Jacob said "Like they love you and they always kinda have?"

"Loved, Jacob... That was then, this is now. I'm kinda not in the position to open myself up to anything new. Already made a mess of things when I tried after I left here." Aria said calmly, trying to resist the urges she was having an increasingly hard time fighting lately every single time they seemed to 'accidentally' run into each other.

"If you're talking about what your dad told mine, Aria, then that one guy was an asshole.. And it's no reason to just stop believing in anything completely.. How's that gonna help the little guy? He's gonna see mommy unhappy and he'll be unhappy." Jacob said as she started to walk back towards the house. His words stopped her in her tracks and she turned, looked at him for a few moments. It bothered him because somehow in the space of 3 years, his best friend and the girl he'd actually taken for granted in the worst of ways, well.. Now when he looked into those big brown eyes of hers, he couldn't read her like a book anymore.. And he hated that.

This bitterness she had now too. Aria used to be a hopeless romantic, a bit of a dreamer, altogether a lot happier than she'd seemed to be since he'd come back for her, to fight for and eventually take back what he felt truly belonged to him. There was no him without her, now he apparently had to make her see that. So far, both her father and his were on board to help him, though he figured that they didn't realize he was onto them and their constantly setting up ways for them to bump into one another casually.

"My son, Jacob, will be just as happy as a kid who has two parents.. I think I turned out okay." Aria said as she gave him a small dirty look and turned, walked into her father's house. "Why in the hell did you tell Jacob's dad?"

"Because I was happy and I wanted to celebrate. I'm gonna have a grandson, I thought Billy might wanna celebrate that with me. We are best friends." Charlie said as Aria glared out the kitchen window again, sighing to herself. "He told Jacob.. Now Jacob's being all nosy and know it all, saying things that won't be true.. My kid will be fine with just me and his crazy old grandpa in his life. For Jacob to even insinuate he won't.. Ughh, god.. He knows how to get under my skin."

Charlie smiled to himself as he kept pretending to read the newspaper. Aria smirked as she said calmly, "Dad, if you're gonna pretend to read the damn thing at least hold it the proper way. You've been reading it upside down for the past ten minutes. And I totally saw you peeking through the window just now.. Look, I love you because you want to fix things.. But Jacob's never gonna love me for me.. I'll always be second best to him and maybe I've grown up enough to realize that I don't want second best."

"Maybe he's changed. Maybe he just needed to lose what he had to realize how much he actually wanted it." Charlie pointed out as Aria hugged him from behind and said "Aww, how sweet.. But that's doubtful, dad.. If she left that prick Cullen tomorrow he'd be all over her again and I'd be forgotten. And for once? I'm not going to let that happen to me."

Charlie grumbled as she walked out of the kitchen and into the den, flopping down onto the couch. "Okay, so we'll just have to be more subtle." Charlie said as he grabbed himself a beer, walked out to the car where Jacob still stood, working on whatever he'd figured out was wrong that made the check engine light on. Wordlessly, he picked up a wrench and said casually, " Just don't give up."

Jacob looked back at the house just in time to see the blind in the window of Aria's room close quickly. He nodded and said solemnly, "I'm not.. But what happened to her while she was gone?"

"A lot of stuff, Jacob.. She really hasn't told me that much about it.. I've tried to make her talk about it, she clams up or changes the subject or leaves the room. Adam was an asshole.. That's just going by what Renee called to tell me about the situation after Aria went there."

Jacob nodded and said "Kinda figured." as he bit his lower lip and took a long sip of the beer Aria had bought out to him a few minutes before. "I wish I had a rewind button now, actually.." he admitted after a few tense moments. Charlie nodded and said quietly as he sipped his own beer, "Me too, Jacob.. I'd have done what I really wanted and I'd have insisted she not leave here.. I should have seen why she was leaving.."

"Nobody knew what she was thinking or how she felt.. She did pretty good at keeping us all out of her head. And apparently, she's still damn impressive at it." Jacob admitted as Charlie nodded and said "Either way.. Just keep trying."

"Didn't plan on stopping.. I really don't have another option.. Not now that I know how living without her feels.." Jacob said quietly as Charlie nodded and then walked back into the house, content that he'd given Jacob a decent pep talk.. Not that he was really great with them.. But he was trying.. So was Jacob.. Maybe sooner or later, Aria would cave in.


	5. chapter four

_|| CHAPTER FOUR||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

She'd just finished a load of laundry, she was stepping into the hallway when his arms shot out of nowhere literally and he grabbed the heavy wicker basket from her, gave her a raised brow as he said calmly, "Heavy lifting isn't a good idea."

"That basket, Jacob, weighs exactly seven pounds, if that. It's not exactly heavy. Why aren't you watching the game with Paul, Billy and Charlie?" she asked in curiousity as she tried to take the basket back. The shouts from the living room drowned out any possible answer he might have, but he shrugged and said calmly, "I'm just not in the mood to watch a game. I came to see you anyway. I mean correct me if I'm wrong here, Aria, but we were best friends at one point. Maybe I miss that."

"Okay, fine. I'll take that answer. And I have been a little touchy lately, I'm sorry for that. Horomones, I guess?" Aria asked as she looked up at him, bit her lower lip slowly, their eyes locked on each other. Jacob coughed as he nodded and said with a laugh, "Yeah, I get it. I just.. I miss being your friend." as he held her gaze, tried again to read her facial expression and use it as a gauge to tell what she was thinking. And again, he couldn't. She'd gotten really good at hiding how she felt and keeping her face void of anything she might feel or think.

Aria nodded and then said quietly, "Okay, alright.. But that's it, okay?" as she looked up at him a few moments. He nodded and said calmly, "For now, I'll take it." as he followed her up the stairs, put the laundry basket down on Aria's bed. He smiled as he noticed she still had the dream catcher he'd made her for her birthday one year. "Is it working?" he asked as he took down the dream catcher and turned it over in his hands. She shrugged and took the dream catcher, put it back where she'd had it hanging. "I suppose.. I mean I'm not having hellish nightmares, if you're asking that." she said after a few moments of tense silence. He watched her putting away her clothes, looked at the thick stack of college books on the desk in front of the bay window. He grumbled and turned to look at her, held up a book and asked, "Seriously? You're not just gonna take a little bit to recover?"

"Actually, Jacob, I'm taking online classes now. Can't get too far behind if I want to be up for an internship next year." Aria pointed out as Jacob grumbled again and said " So you're planning to leave again." the anger edging into his voice, making Aria flinch. He felt like an asshole instantly as he recalled everything he'd managed to figure out about this Adam jerk who apparently messed Aria up so badly that now she wanted to spend her life alone.

"Actually, no. I'm gonna apply for the internship in Forks.." Aria finally said as she looked at him and then said quietly, "Not that it matters. It didn't matter when I l left the first time, why would it now? I'm staying, Jacob, for my dad. Because he's not good at being alone in the house, even if he won't admit it.. I mean he can, he just.. He doesn't like it? And I'm staying for my kid.. Because Forks is better than some big city or something. There's a lot of shit out there I don't want my son subjected to."

"But you can't protect him from everything."

"But I can try. And Forks is safer than a big city.. This is home to me.. Even after everything.. So no, I wasn't leaving. Not sure why you were getting pissed about it, even if I were.. Like I said.. It wouldn't matter." Aria said calmly as she bit her lower lip, tried to figure out where the hell his sudden anger outburst came from. It was kind of scary..

She knew he was a shifter, maybe because of the animal side of him, he got angry quicker. Internally, she was disgusted with herself and thought _'What? Now you're going to make excuses for him too? You're pathetic, really, you are.. He's never gonna love you first.. And you cannot, you refuse to settle for anything less than first in someone's heart. Adam was right about you, he was the best you were ever going to get.. And your stubborn idealism is only going to wind up making you a bitter and angry old woman who dies alone.. But seriously, the making excuses for his anger thing.. Do not go down that path again.. Remember where it lead last time?' _but she kept quiet and busied herself with putting up her clothing and then flopping down onto her bed, turning on the stereo and opening one of her college books.

Jacob flopped down next to her, intent on not leaving anytime soon, obviously. He watched her and thought to himself _'Way to go, moron.. Charlie and Bella have told you everything they do know about what Adam put her through and you go and lose your temper like that? But it's just so damn irritating the way she automatically assumes that I never loved her, not even a little. She doesn't have a clue.. But then, I never actually tried to show her before, either.. And now she thinks that if she has to settle for second place she'd rather not try at all.. Jessica told you that when you ran into her at the gas station earlier today.. You have to use what you know to help her.. You have to find some damn way to prove to her that she's never been and she never will be second to you.. That somewhere along the way, Bella became second place and she took first. It's always been a competition between them.' _

"What's that one?" Jacob asked as Aria held out the book to him and said "It's actually a book I picked up on different things to expect while pregnant. Because I was curious as to what the hell was going on with me lately.. Apparently, it's all normal." as she smiled a little. Jacob nodded and took the sonogram photo, looked at it, smiled to himself. "Any names?"

"Well, I've decided that if they have to give me an epi, my father will be in charge of naming him. If not, I'm leaning towards a few.. I'd tell you, Jacob, but I'd have to kill you.. Nobody else knows." Aria joked as she smiled a little bit, took the sonogram he held out to her back and put it into the frame on her desk then asked, "So.. How's your life?"

"Well, I'm working at this awesome garage.. Beyond that, really don't do much else. Just not interested, I guess." Jacob said as Aria studied him a few moments and then asked "So no hot nights?"

"Nope.. I do have patrol and stuff.. And work leaves me pretty much exhausted. Then there's helping Paul fix that damn log cabin he and Rachel are going to live in.." Jacob said as he studied her intently and asked, "What about you?"

Aria doubled over in laughter then said "No guy's going to willingly start something with a girl who already has a bun in the oven.. And if they were, I wouldn't know.. Told you before.. I'm pretty much done with love as anything other than a mythical notion or something." which made Jacob say quietly while holding her gaze intently, "With the wrong guy yeah, it is.. But with the right one, who knows."

Aria bit her lower lip, tempted to argue back but for whatever reason, she fell silent instead and then finally coughed and said "Anyway, beyond that.. You moved to Canada?"

"Yeah.. I was actually toying with living out the rest of my life in wolf form.. Rejected or broken imprints will make a guy do crazy shit apparently." as he looked at her, wondering if she'd get what he was hinting at.

She held his gaze a few moments before saying quietly, "Oh.. So, this girl.. You just can't find her or something? Or she ditched you?" as she wondered to herself who in the hell would just willingly ditch him.. Other than her twin, of course, but her twin was batshit insane, Aria liked to think. Jacob's answer puzzled her a little more, she got the feeling that she was missing some huge hint when he answered "Oh, I found her.. And she's not getting away. I won't lose her."

"Good luck with that, Jacob.. If memory serves, you always were good at persistance." Aria said quietly as she found herself insanely jealous of a girl she shouldn't even be jealous of, given that she was forcing herself to get over her 'love' for him.. Went without saying, of course, it wasn't working, not even a little, but she was making a solid effort..

Or at least she'd thought she was until just now, hearing him admit he'd imprinted.. Once upon a time she'd have killed to hear him say that, think he meant on her..

He grumbled in frustration when he realized that Aria had no clue who he was currently talking about.. But he'd show her somehow.. There had to be a way in..


	6. chapter five

_|| CHAPTER FOUR||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

Her father had been gone for about an hour when the storm hit. She'd never liked them as a kid, she liked them even less now, with the weird things that'd been going on lately, the weird hang up calls from an unknown number, the way she woke up in the middle of the night sometimes with the strange sensation that someone either was in her old bedroom or had been in her old bedroom, watching her sleep. She was tense, and tense was not a good thing for her, not considering that she was pregnant and she didn't need to get tense or scared.. Especially not given what her doctor told her at her last appointment, that her blood pressure had been a little higher than he'd like among other things.

She took a few deep breaths and she thought she'd be okay, she'd even hit play on the dvr again, intent on finishing her Supernatural binge a thon, when the thunder and lightning really started to make noise, shadows on the wall as the power flickered and then went out completely. She jumped up off of the couch swearing and popcorn went everywhere. The phone rang again and she bit her lower lip as she gave it a dirty look. The weird calls were really starting to get to her, she could definitely tell this for sure now. "It's just a storm, damn it, Aria." she grumbled as she walked to the hallway table, dug around in a drawer and found a candle, matches to light it with. She'd never been a really big fan of darkness, storms and darkness together was probably ten times scarier to her. The phone rang in the house and she waited, holding her breath as the answering machine turned on and upon hearing Jacob's voice, she let out the breath she'd been holding, swore a little and ran to try and answer the phone just as he said "Fuck it.. I'll come over and make sure you're alright." and the dialtone recorded on the machine ending the message.

She paced a few moments and then shrugged. When the lights flickered back on finally, she let out her breath completely and flopped back down on the couch, started up the tv show, Supernatural, she'd been watching. He'd probably change his mind, she figured to herself as she started to get engrossed in the show. The storm continued outside and she tried to ignore it like she had been.. As it finally began to die down, she heard a motorcycle pulling up next to the house outside and she got up, went to peer out the curtains. She raised a brow when she saw Jacob walking up the stone walkway to her father's door.

"The literal fucking hell is he doing here? I mean I know his message said... But did he fucking fly?" she wondered aloud as she stepped away from the window and quickly straightened up the living room, scowled when she remembered that it was just Jacob and her father probably put him up to checking in, Charlie knew she hated bad storms...

He wasn't stopping by because he was actually worried about her, at least that's what she figured.. But when he practically beat the damn front door down knocking on it, she raised a brow. He sounded worried, a little panicked even... And it made her heart race a little, even if she'd die before admitting it. Finally, she threw the door open and stared up at him with her head tilted to one side, a slightly amused look on her face as she asked, "What?"

"Do you not know how to answer a phone?" Jacob asked through gritted teeth as Aria said quietly, "Someone's grumpy." and stepped aside, letting him into the house before answering, "If you must know, Jacob, I was kinda trying to find a damn light source.. So I didn't have to sit in the dark until the power came back?" as she bit her lower lip. He nodded and stopped scanning the house with his eyes, looked at her and nodding said with a slightly cocky smirk, "Yeah, you were always afraid of the dark."

She flipped him off and said "It's my own damn fault tonight, really, I was watching Supernatural when the storm hit." as Jacob looked at her, brow raised. She grumbled and explained "It's a tv show, damn it."

"Oh."

"As you can see, I'm fine. I know my dad's probably bugging the hell out of you, trying to make you keep tabs on me when he's working.. You really don't have to.. I'll talk to him about it when he gets back." Aria insisted as Jacob said quietly, "I haven't actually seen Charlie today... Nor has he called me.. I came because I was worried about you. You alright?"

"I'm fine, seriously." Aria lied as she bit her lip and stared at him intently. He saw something in her eyes that indicated she was lying and he asked "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, damn it.. Nothing I can't handle." Aria said as Jacob looked at her, brow raised, waiting on an explanation.. Which she gave, which ticked him off when she said casually, "Some creepy pervert I'm sure that's all they are, really.. Anyway, they've been calling my phone, hanging up after breathing really hard or laughing this deranged laugh.. It's just some idiot okay? That's all it is."

He held out his hand, she rolled her eyes and put her phone into it after keying in her unlock code. He dialed her voicemail and listened intently. When the messages finished he asked stiffly, "How long?"

"Since I left Biloxi.. Kinda makes me think it's my ex.. And he won't do shit." Aria said as Jacob looked at her and then said "Right.. That's why you left him, remember?" revealing that yes, he knew all about her ex and the things the guy had done before she finally got the courage to leave the guy. She grumbled and made a mental note to talk to her father about how much he told Billy and how much Billy told Jacob.. She'd told him already that Jacob wasn't ever going to love her like he'd loved her sister, begged her father to stop trying to throw them together, insisted she was just fine alone.. But tonight's events kind of made her wonder if she really were.

And Jacob racing over here like some knight in shining armor to save the day.. She looked up at him and he stared at her intently for a few moments as if he wanted to say or do something. "Since I'm here.. wanna watch tv or something?" Jacob finally asked as she shrugged and said with a yawn, "Cool with me but don't get pissed if I fall asleep.. I seem to sleep a lot lately."

"It'll be fine.. I just wanna be here with you.. At least then I'm not at home going crazy worrying about you." Jacob admitted, the bluntness of his answer making her do a double take when she looked at him and bite her lip again, her fingers trailing slowly through her long hair as she said quietly, "I told you, Jacob, I'm fine.. I mean now I am."

"Obviously not, you have a stalker that you neglected to mention to anyone.. What were you going to do, Aria, if the jerk showed up here?" Jacob asked through gritted teeth, a concerned look in his eyes as he looked at her. Aria shrugged and said "My dad would have handled him, trust me, he's dying to.. Besides, there's enough little perverts in Forks, Jacob, who's to say it's not some bored teenage guy?"

Jacob shook his head and for the sake of not getting her upset, he let the matter go. But he did make a mental note to find a way to answer her phone sometime and tell this caller what was going to happen if he dared step foot in Forks and Jacob could get his damn hands on him. Aria coughed and held out a bowl of popcorn as she took a handful. "So.. How was your day?"

"Fine, until you scared the hell out of me by not answering the damn phone." Jacob grumbled darkly as he took a hand full of the popcorn and watched her out of the corner of his eyes. She scooted a little closer, he noticed, and he laughed when she found a throw blanket and wrapped it around herself.. She'd always had the habit, it was kinda cute actually.. No matter what the weather was, she always had to have a blanket around her when she was sitting around watching television or reading a book. And those big oversized reading glasses.. It was good to see that while a lot about Aria had changed while she'd been gone, a lot about her hadn't changed, also.

Maybe there was hope for them, for him to finally get her back.

Aria watched Jacob intently as he watched the television in front of them, pondering what was up with him lately.. He'd never acted like this around her before, more or less, she was only a friend, and usually, he only bothered hanging out with her when Bella was tied up with Edward.. But the way he was acting towards her now, the way he spoke to her, tried to take care of her and even looked at her..

It just felt like something was different about him, about the way he felt about her.. And it made her curious.. Which of course, scared the crap out of her.. Because she'd fallen for him once and she'd never actually gotten over that.. And she didn't want to do it again, have it ruined when he moved on.. Or she messed it up somehow.

Lately, she seemed to make mistakes better than she did anything else. She didn't want to fall because she didn't want to crash to the ground when he didn't catch her...

Maybe this time.. She wouldn't even let herself think that.. If she gave herself hope, she'd wind up hurting again. And she'd had enough pain and hurting to last a long time.

She leaned against him warily and he slid his arm around her, made a joke about the blanket she was wrapped in. She glared at him and for a moment they shared this silent and intense staring war.. Something just felt different about him, about the way he acted around her..


	7. chapter six

_|| CHAPTER FIVE||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

* * *

The knock on the door of her father's house surprised Aria more than a little bit and she called out from the kitchen, "Give me a second. Kind of trying to cook here." as she felt around on the counter and grabbed a knife, just in case. The calls had began to escalate lately, and she was starting to freak out a little bit more. She still hadn't told her father the whole story, of course, but she was beginning to freak out to the point that she knew that soon, it would become a necessary evil. And she was quite honestly dreading that conversation because she felt ashamed that she'd been so wrong about her former boyfriend and his real intentions, his real character. She'd always thought herself good at reading people and it disgusted her to think about what she'd gotten herself wrapped up in, with an unborn child to think of now, at that.

Jacob stood outside on the small 'porch' of Charlie's house, prepared to knock again when the door opened only a crack and Aria peered up at him through the crack sheepishly before finally opening the door all the way and stepping aside, letting him in the house. He walked in and eyed the knife on the hallway table next to the door, held it up and asked, "Expecting someone?"

She glared at him a few moments, muttered something he couldn't quite understand and then answered aloud, "No, actually, I told you when you knocked before that I was trying to cook. What brings you over? I figured you'd go fishing with my dad and your dad for a while or something." as she held his gaze intently. There it was again, that same look he seemed to get around her a lot lately. She raised a brow and asked again, "So, what's up?"

Jacob shrugged and said quietly, "Didn't feel like fishing actually. You know I haven't ever really been that into fishing, Aria. What was the knife on the hallway table for?" as he eyed her with suspicious concern. When she shrugged he grumbled and said quietly, "Guess that means you haven't told your dad just how bad this guy is and that he might actually be calling you and stalking you." before flopping down onto the couch, looking up at her again intently as he patted the spot right next to him and then added, "I can't want to come over and visit an old friend?" with a slightly teasing grin.

Aria looked at him a few moments, debating on what his actual intent was with coming over as often as he did, wondering briefly if he were just replacing Bella's absence with her presence or something. She started to say this, but then he asked her about her current situation and she answered darkly, "I'd rather not go there, Jacob and you know exactly why, okay? I can't.. I won't worry Charlie with a situation I created myself because of shitty damned judgement. What's the big deal anyway, I mean it could be some skeezy little pervert right here in Forks for all we know." as she stretched lazily and then asked, " Since when have you not been into fishing?" as she looked at him for a few moments, licked her lower lip.

Was it hotter in the room right now or was it just her horomones surging unexpectedly yet again? And was she imagining him moving so that she had no choice but to sit leaned against him slightly, sliding his arm around her shoulders as he did so? She tried to refrain from actually leaning against him, of course, but it didn't quite work out that well for her. She bit her lower lip as her nose filled with the masculine and clean, woodsy scent of his cologne, a scent she'd missed for a really long time and didn't even actually realize it until just now in this moment.

Long and tense silent moments followed as they sat in the den of her father's house and she finally said in a quiet voice, "I didn't say there was anything wrong with you coming by, it's just.. I kind of figured you have better things to do than come over here and sit with me while I do nothing?" as she looked up at him. The electricity between the two of them was almost so thick that the air around them seemed to buzz and pop with the current.

"Never." Jacob said quietly as he looked at her, leaned in a little and hooked his index finger in a strand of hair that had escaped from a long and messy waterfall braid her hair was barely restrained by currently. "It was in your eye.. And is that flour on your face?" he asked, grinning as he snickered a little and grazed his lower lip with his teeth. It took a lot of self control to be around her, Sam was exactly right about that much. He'd had a long time to learn control of his animal side and even having so long wasn't helping currently. He'd love to lean in and kiss her until it swelled her lips and made them tingle. He shifted his sitting position on the couch and coughed a little, awkwardly as he wondered just why in the hell had he not actually noticed how much prettier that she was than Bella before now?

Aria laughed a little and stifling a yawn she nodded then said "Most likely. I was jonesing for chocolate chip cookie dough so I was making eggless cookie dough so I could kind of migrate to the couch and be lazy, maybe binge on that tv show again and eat the dough?" while nibbling her fingertip, a nervous habit she had, as she looked up at him.

Jacob chuckled and then shaking his head, he stood and said with a smirk, "I have to see this eggless chocolate chip cookie dough. There's no way it tastes even remotely as good as the actual cookie dough." and held out his hand, easily pulling her off of the couch and leading her into the kitchen. He couldn't stop touching her, he noticed, the urges were so strong around her, it was harder to hold back.

Aria laughed a little and then said quietly, "It is, actually. And it's safer to eat than normal cookie dough because it doesn't really need to be cooked which is always a good thing. I'll show you and then you can taste it for yourself." as their eyes locked on each other for a full 8 seconds and they stared at each other intently and quietly. She realized she was migrating closer to him as if being pulled by magnets almost the second her body brushed against his.

He smiled that lazy smile of his that was good at making her weak in the knees and steadying her, he nodded to the counter where she was already in the process of making this eggless cookie dough and said with a shrug, "So show me, huh?" his voice coming out deep and husky. He stood behind her, his chest brushing her turned back as she started to nervously fumble around, he smiled to himself, she still got nervous around him, even now, and it made him feel good, it made him feel important and wanted for once.

"I will." Aria remarked, her voice cracking just a little, to her embarassment as she turned her back and held back a gasp when she felt his chest pressed against it, his chin resting on her shoulder as he bent forward slightly, rested it there to stare down at the bowl and what she was doing. His hand, she noticed, was lingering near her hip.

Was Jacob flirting with her?

Coughing, she said quietly, "I can't move if you're propping on me, silly man." as she turned to grab a stick or two of butter out of the fridge behind them both. He chuckled and when she'd turned her attention back to what she was trying to do in front of her, he asked her quietly in her ear, "Can't concentrate or something?" as she bit her lower lip.

Okay, he was definitely acting strange around her lately. But she couldn't actually say she didn't like it. She could try and claim that, but it would be a lie.

She turned around, her chest pressed against his and she said with a smile, "Actually, Jacob, it's all done.. But there is something you can do for me.. I need another bowl to put it in so we can eat it? And I can't reach them." as she pointed to a cabinet and it's topmost shelf.

He grabbed the bowl and held it out, staring at her as he did so, wondering if he were forcing things to move along too quickly given what she'd just been through and what she meant to him, how long he intended on sticking around.. How he was trying his best to get her to himself, become a part of her life again. If he had his way about things?

He'd be the father to the child she carried, not this other bastard who obviously hadn't deserved her love in the first place.


	8. chapter seven

_|| CHAPTER SIX||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

* * *

"You don't have to do this, Jacob, really.. I can go to the doctor by myself, it's fine.." Aria insisted again as Jacob shook his head and looked at her, leaned against the front door's frame, arms crossed while reminding her, "Don't have to, Aria.. I want to. Besides, Charlie's working and the car's been acting up on you all week." which made her scowl a little. Her father must have told him about her car's recent problems and her stubborn refusal to take it in and let him pay to have it serviced or something, or even letting Jacob just take a look at it.

She was trying, damn it all, to stand on her own two feet and not make everyone drop everything to help her and the fact that they seemed to want to, especially Jacob, really threw her for one hell of a loop. Nobody really had before so she more often than not found herself wondering what had changed while she'd been gone.

"Just go get ready before you're late, okay? We can go to the mall after and goof off or something, damn it. I haven't had a day off at the bike shop in over two weeks, the fact that I got one today is a reason to celebrate for me and I'm not going to stand here and argue with you, woman, damn it." Jacob teased with a grin as she gave him a strange look then shrugged and jogged up the stairs, leaving him alone to his thoughts for a little while. He flopped onto the couch and leaned back, resting his eyes a few moments as he wondered why she seemed so damn reluctant and stubborn now, so distant. She hadn't been before. Sure she was caving in a little bit at a time lately, but it was taking an agonizingly long time to get to that level of closeness they'd had once.

Back when he'd been her best friend and she'd apparently wanted more but kept it secret, then he'd realized too little and too late (after she left town) that he'd wanted more than friendship with her too.

Whoever this guy that had hurt her was had really done a number on her, apparently. Because in some ways she was nothing like the Aria he remembered. She always seemed so tense and stressed. He tried to do as much as he could to keep her from stressing too much, he heard it wasn't good for a pregnant woman to have too much stress in her life, but she wasn't as willing to let him do things now as she used to be back then.

It hurt a little because now he knew that he'd played some part in that.

Aria walked down the stairs and stopped at the foot of them, asked Jacob, "Are we going? You seemed to be in a big hurry to just go sit around and wait for nearly an hour." with a smirk as he nodded and smiled then said "I don't mind waiting. Kind of a patient guy." as he held her gaze and watched her face take on a faint blush which made him chuckle.

She raised a brow and scowled then grabbed a light jacket and the key to the house as she suggested, "How about a movie after? They're showing some really cool horror movie at the theater in the mall.. I mean you did say that you wanted to take advantage of the day off.. Plus I gotta pick up some things I ordered at that baby store while I'm out." which made him laugh as he nodded and asked, "What did you order?"

"A crib.. That I'll probably kick myself for ordering when I'm still up at 2 am trying to put together the damn thing." Aria admitted as she laughed and followed him out the door of her father's house, stopping to lock it behind her. The phone inside rang and she grumbled as Jacob looked at her, then at the house and asked, "You okay?"

"That idiot who's calling just left a voice message or something.. Don't know, don't care. I'm telling dad too, so can we stop by the station on our way back maybe? I mean this has been going on long enough. If it were a skeezy little perverted teenage boy, he'd be bored already, wouldn't he?" Aria asked Jacob who nodded in agreement and said "Finally you listen to me." as he helped her into his father's truck and shut the door firmly, going around the truck to get in on the drivers side. Parts of him were tempted to go back inside, listen to the message just to see what finally made Aria decide to tell her father just how bad things actually were, but he didn't because she was with him, he'd die before anything happened to her.

And if the prick responsible for scaring her showed his face in Forks, Jacob fully intended to handle that as well. He gripped the steering wheel as he pulled out of the driveway and took off down the street doing his best not to say anything. He didn't want to ruin the day and things had been strained between them for the most part since she'd come back. It felt like he was finally getting just a little closer to her, to the way things used to be and he didn't want to mess all that up.

"You look like you wanna rip the wheel off, Jacob." Aria stated as she looked at him and asked "What's got you mad?"

"The situation with whoever that is who keeps calling you. Pisses me off because he's scaring you, okay? Because I happen to lo- care about you and.." Jacob trailed off as he looked at her, saw her blinking as if she were shocked and realized what he'd almost said and what he'd covered with. He grumbled to himself and said "Just forget it.. If I thought you were ready to hear it.."

Aria nodded and bit her lower lip as the shock of what he almost said washed over her.. He'd almost said he loved her just now.. Surely he meant in a brother kind of way or something.. Because to her knowledge, Bella was the only girl he'd ever loved the way Aria longed to be loved by him.. Right?

For about ten minutes, there was awkward silence in the cab of the truck and Jacob fumbled with the radio trying to find music to drown out the silence and keep him from overthinking and making an even bigger mess than he already just had. When he found a song and turned it up, Aria grumbled and then turned it down, looked at him a few moments, shook her head and went back to staring out the window.

He'd figured she was going to be quiet and weirded out by what he'd said the entire drive and that he'd already ruined the day but a few minutes later she turned off the radio and said stiffly, "Who the hell died and made you leading decider in what I'm ready to hear and what I'm not ready to hear.. Or what I can't handle? Huh? And what's with you lately, I mean for years now it's been Bella this and Bella that and... Know what? Nevermind.. It's probably some replacement thing.." she finally muttered as she apologized and said with a sheepish shrug, "I blame my hormones. I'm sorry I blew up like that.. It's just.."

Jacob stared at her, brow raised and then said quietly, "What'd you mean just now?"

"Nothing, okay? Look, we're friends again, which I missed.. maybe it's better off if we don't bring up some things.. Like I said, it was a hormone induced meltdown, probably caused by stress from this idiot who's purposely trying to scare me shitless and worrying about just how bad I'm gonna be as a single parent and... what the fucking hell are you laughing at me for?" Aria blurted as she watched Jacob trying not to laugh but not doing a very good job at keeping it in.

He stayed quiet for a few moments and then asked casually, "Are you done?"

"I think so, yes."

"Good.. If it's all the same to you, Aria, I'm totally against not bringing up some things.. Maybe some things shouldn't stay buried. I'm glad you missed me as a friend, but I'm not gonna lie, I want more." Jacob said calmly as she coughed and gaped at him as if he'd grown a second head or a third eye suddenly, shocked speechless for once.

"H-huh?" she stammered finally as she looked at him and waited on an answer. All she got was a shrug and him muttering quietly, "You'll get it sooner or later, Ari." as he kept driving, eyes fixed intently on the road ahead. When he knew she'd turned her gaze back to the window on her side of the truck's cab he slid his arm across the seat and around her shoulders, moved her a little closer as he said with a shrug, "You okay?"

"I think so.. Confused but.."

"Like I said.. If I thought you were ready to hear me say it.." Jacob said as he looked at her. She glared at him a moment and then said quietly, "Like I said.. Maybe we don't need to bring stuff up.. I've finally g ot you as a friend again and I don't wanna ruin that." while biting her lower lip and staring up at him intently. He shrugged and then said "Maybe it wouldn't ruin things."

"Maybe."


	9. chapter eight I

_|| CHAPTER SEVEN||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

* * *

The crib was frustrating her. She glared at the heap of materials in the middle of her bedroom floor and then scowled at the sparse direction sheet that had even come with the thing as her father asked from the doorway, "Can I come in?"

"Sure, Charlie.. Think you can figure this damn thing out? Because I am working on a college major, sir, and I've yet to figure out which part on the damn diagram of this crib goes where.. What's up?" she asked as she looked up at her father, brow raised. He seemed tense tonight, almost like he was worried about something. And she was getting a feeling that the something in question was her situation. She'd finally given him all the details earlier and tried her best to reassure him that it was probably nothing, but the man was a worrier, it couldn't be helped.

Charlie sat down on his daughter's bed and took the instruction sheet while sipping a beer he held in his hand. His eyes darted over the paper in his hand and he said solemnly, "I think you should consider letting a private investigator look into these calls.. Or at least letting one of the guys down at the station look into it. I mean given what you've told me about your ex, you can't be too careful.. I also think it wouldn't be a bad idea if you spent more time with Jacob when I'm not here.. I just.. Knowing what's going on, Aria, I really do not feel like leaving you alone in the house anymore."

"Dad, it's not a big deal.. I mean if it were my ex, he hasn't done anything but make a few calls. He hasn't shown up here and trust me.. If he were angry enough, if he wanted something badly enough, he would. I'm sick of living in fear every single time the damn phone rings, sir.. I want to enjoy being on my own two feet again, I want to work through what I've been through.. I can't do that when I'm worrying and upset constantly. I can't take being worried and upset anymore, either. It's not good for me or for my baby. And how do we know anyway, that it has to be my ex.. Like I told Jacob, the calls could just be the work of some little horny ass teenage boy here in town."

"Well, I'd rather know."

"Okay, sir.. I'll let one of the guys look into the calls. And I'll go down and file an order against my ex in case he shows up. In the meantime, sir, I have mase, I have taken self defense and I do know how to operate a handgun. I do believe I'll be okay." Aria said as she looked at her father, gave him a reassuring smile. Inside, yes, she had to admit that she was scared as hell.. She didn't want him seeing it though, because she felt guilty because she'd gotten herself into this mess she was in. She didn't want to have anyone she cared about hurt or anything by what she'd managed to get herself into.

It was bad enough her unborn child was in the middle of it. She already felt like a failure as a parent and stubborn pride kept her from showing just how afraid she really was, because her father had been through more than enough in recent years thanks to her sister and her sister's endless stunts and problems. And then her marrying the guy and leaving for God only knew where to boot hadn't helped any.

"And you'll spend less time alone when I'm working?" her father asked hopefully as he worked on assembling the crib beside her. She sighed and he looked at her and said solemnly, "It's for your own good. I'm worried about you. I wish you'd come to me when it got this bad instead of pretending everything was just fine. I could have helped you get away, I could have put a stop to this jerk's antics. I am your dad, Aria."

Aria sighed quietly and then said "I was disgusted and ashamed of myself, okay? Because I thought before all of it happened that surely I wasn't stupid enough to just fall for someone like that.. Then I did and before I realized it.. I was afraid, okay? I didn't know what he would or wouldn't do and I didn't want to drag you or Mom into this. I hate myself for even dragging my kid into this. My kid's not even born yet and I'm already doing a stellar job of fucking up their life."

"You are not. You got out." Charlie told his daughter in a firm voice as he looked at her a few moments, quietly sipped his beer and then mused aloud, "People make mistakes, Aria. You thought he was a good guy and that he loved you.. You took a risk.. Sometimes risks don't pay off.. But if you stop trying to take them, Aria, you won't ever know what you're missing out on. Just some advice."

Aria chuckled and then said "I haven't stopped.. I'm just putting more thought into the risks I take.. I can't just do something anymore.. That was about Jacob, right? Are you trying to set me up with Jacob, Dad? Because trust me.. I think the only reason he's even around so much is because the absence of Bella is driving him to replace the void he feels with my presence or something. He's not into me, I'd know it if he were. I mean he's always been a kinda flirty guy, you can't take it seriously when he flirts.." as she bit her lower lip and their odd conversation from two days prior in his father's truck came back to mind..

He'd been getting at something, but she hadn't let him finish whatever it was he'd been wanting to say to her. And he'd dropped it. He still came over and sat with her, did things with her, but he dropped their unfinished conversation.. And for some odd reason, she sort of wanted to hear what he thought she wasn't 'ready to hear' quoting his words.. He still flirted with her, sometimes, even, she'd look up or something and catch him watching her with this strange look on his face, almost as if he wanted to say something but he wasn't going to yet.

"It was worth a try, huh?" Charlie chuckled as he stood, helped his daughter off of the floor also and hugged her, fluffing her hair as he asked, "So.. What'd the doctor say about my grandkid?"

"The usual.. They have ten fingers and toes, they're forming correctly, they have strong vitals.. I got a sonogram, actually.. The doctor could've told me the sex.. I kinda think I want it to be a surprise. I mean I know I said earlier that the doctor thought it'd be a boy and that I was going to get the sex found out and confirm what I was having.. But I kind of want the surprise too..."

Charlie chuckled and with a shrug said "Just think about what I asked you to do, okay? The guy's here all the time.. Between you and I, Aria, he wasn't even around this much when your sister was living here." which made Aria bite her lip and ask, "So you knew I liked him back then, huh?"

"You've always liked him.. I know it had to have hurt to watch him have feelings for your sister.. But people change.. And sometimes good ones make mistakes."

"Gotcha, sir." Aria said as she mock saluted him and held out the sonogram photo so that he could see it and Charlie remarked, "Personally? I think it's gonna be a little boy. That'll be good."

"Dad, no.. We're not going to turn him into a sports addict.. Sports hurt, I'm not sure if I even want my kid playing any." as Charlie pretended to pout and then said "Oh come on.. At least give me baseball, huh?"

"Okay, baseball." Aria relented, laughing as she walked into the kitchen of her father's house and grabbed a green tea. The knock on the door had her raising a brow and she looked out the kitchen window. The sky was almost black and she wondered who in their right minds would be out driving in the crap. When she opened the door to her father's house, she got her answer.

Jacob stood in the doorway, looking at her with a smile as he asked, "Feel up to getting out in an hour or two?" a bundle of nervous energy as he held her gaze, licked his lips and waited on her answer.

Aria looked at the sky behind him and asked, "But the weather?"

"It won't matter.. It's a thing.. At Sam's.. For Claire.. I didn't wanna go by myself, thought I'd ask if you wanted to come with me?" Jacob asked as she laughed and nodding said "Let me shower and change and tell Dad what's up." as she walked back up the stairs to get ready. When she told her father where she was heading, her father smiled and said "Just remember.. Maybe some risks are worth taking, huh?"

"No wedding plans, Charlie." Aria joked as she finished getting ready and walked down to where Jacob sat waiting on her.. But maybe her father was right.. And she did feel a lot safer and happier with Jacob around all the time.. And he was flirting with her..

But was it still too soon?


	10. chapter eight II - FLUFF ALERT!

_|| CHAPTER EIGHT||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

* * *

The laughter of small children bought a warm smile to Aria's face as they walked into the house where the party for Claire, Emily and Sam's niece, was being held. She looked around and quickly realized with a shocking clarity that Jacob had invited her for a reason... It seemed that all of his other friends all had dates. She shrugged that off mentally to his not wanting to feel left out, and when Emily gave her a hug hello, she smiled and hugged her back as she said "Thanks for being okay with me coming."

"We were glad you said you would." Sam said as he gave Jacob a look, Jacob shrugging it off. Jacob didn't much care that Sam currently thought he should be staying away, he should be learning how to control himself better around Aria, especially given that Aria was expecting a baby in a matter of months. It was for the girls own safety, Sam kept saying, but Jacob wasn't listening. Given her other situation, and her being pregnant, Jacob was the only person that Jacob trusted to keep his imprint safe. Because after it'd taken so long to finally get this close to her, he was damned if he were going to let anything mess that up now. He smiled at Aria and slid his arm around her as he said quietly, "See? It's like I said on the way over.. Just because Bella isn't their favorite person, that doesn't mean they are automatically going to hate you. You're not her, you are different."

Aria nodded, though the hairy looks she got from Leah Clearwater and Sam Uley were kind of making her wonder if Jacob weren't at least partially wrong in telling her they weren't going to judge her by her sister and the things her sister had done in the past. She bit her lower lip and kept quiet for the most part, choosing to sit down beside Jacob who'd flopped lazily on a couch and was currently being held down by two or three adoring little girls who showed obvious signs of a little girls crush on the handsome Quileute male. The recognition of his not having a clue bought a soft smile to her face when no one was looking.. Jacob had always been a very sweet natured guy, and seeing him around the kids in the room was a heartwarming sight to behold.

"You okay?" Jacob chuckled as a little girl finished braiding his long hair, climbed off of his lap and took off at a run, finding Claire, giggling. He fixed his eyes on Aria who seemed to be lost in her own happy thoughts and waited on her to answer, edging closer to her, ignoring Leah's disgusted look from across the room, choosing instead to focus on Aria, make sure she wasn't uncomfortable or that she didn't regret coming with him today.

"I'm fine, Jacob.. It was just cute watching you with all those little girls." Aria admitted, smiling as she leaned in and whispered, "What's Leah's deal? She's sitting there giving me these intense and hateful looks and I barely know her."

"She's probably just in a bad mood. Her date didn't show up, she feels left out." Jacob said as he gave Leah a knock it off glare and Leah rolled her eyes. He laughed as he stood and then pulled Aria off the couch. "It's kinda noisy in here.. Wanna go for a walk on the beach with me?" he asked, casual smirk that made her knees weak on his face as he looked down at her. Her eyes were this tantalizing shade of almost milk chocolate brown, he noticed. He licked his lips as his stomach growled and reminded him he was kind of hungry. Thing of it was, he wasn't sure if this was a food hunger or a lustful kind of hungry.

Aria got sucked into the playful gleaming dark brown eyes and with a shrug and laugh she let him pull her off of the couch, let him lead her outside. Once they were outside, Jacob asked idly, "How'd it go with the doctor?"

"It went great. I'm about half tempted to find out the sex of my baby, but parts of me want the surprise. Dad and I both think it'll be a little boy. When I saw Jessica the other day, she said she thought I'd have a girl, gave me some old wives tale about all the food I'd been craving." Aria said as they walked along the waters edge, looking up at the setting sun in a dusky grey sky.

Jacob looked at her and shrugged as he said "I kinda think it'll be a boy too. Just a feeling I get." while holding her gaze. They'd stopped walking and he did nothing but stare at her for a few long moments that seemed to drag on to her like an eternity. Finally, she asked with a curious look in those gorgeous eyes of hers, "Are you okay, Jacob? It seems like you have something really big on your mind.. We're friends, you can talk to me.." which made him chuckle and bite his lower lip intently.

Oh he had something big on his mind alright.. But he wasn't entirely sure that now was the time or the place to do it. Still, though, he found himself leaning in, his hand caressing her cheek as he pulled her lips to his slowly. She bit her lower lip and she felt her skin heating, her pulse quicken and her stomach fluttering.. It was also at this particular time that the baby chose to kick. She giggled and grabbed his other hand, held it to her stomach as she said "I just felt him kick, I think."

Jacob nodded and coughed a little then said in a husky voice, "He did, didn't he." while rolling the thumb on the hand that rested against her stomach lazily along the smooth and soft pale skin beneath her t shirt. He held her gaze and leaned in again, his lips dangerously closer to hers by now as he said quietly, "If you don't want me to kiss you, stop me now."

Aria found herself stuck in his gaze and to her own surprise, though she knew she shouldn't just yet, she was still so afraid to give in and fall again, she leaned in and let him capture her lips with his, his tongue slipped past her lips and caressed her tongue as he nipped at her lower lip. She groaned and her hand went to his hair, tangling in it.

When the kiss broke she just stared at him a few moments, wide eyed.. "Umm..."

"You didn't stop me." Jacob said as he gave her a soft grin and then added, "I've wanted to do that for a while now.. I finally couldn't take it anymore, okay? The rest you'll figure out later.. But are you starting to see that I'm not joking? I'm seriously attracted to you.. I'm not planning on going anywhere unless you tell me to get lost." as he looked at her intently.

She nodded as the shock of what happened set in and she found her mind a whirlwind of various different thoughts. But her father's earlier advice cut in, persistant as ever and she said quietly, "We cannot rush this, okay?"

"We won't." Jacob promised as he slid his arm around her and pulled her close. "I just.. I had to do something, say something.. It was driving me insane, it's been driving me insane. I know you need time.. I'm willing to take as long as you want, okay? I just.. I need you to know that I want you.. I've wanted you a long time I think.."

She nodded. This was the last thing she'd expected to happen when he got her outside and alone. She still felt as if he were keeping something huge from her, but she was too caught up in the moment currently to demand what it might be. Maybe the less demands she made right now, the better off things were for them...

Maybe her father was right.. Some risks were at least worth a shot.

"I feel the same way, it's just.. That's why I left.. It hurt, watching you so caught up in her.. I was just your friend, I didn't think you'd ever return the feelings and I certainly didn't want to force my own on you." Aria admitted as he chuckled and leaned down, grazed his lips to her forehead and said quietly, "Maybe we shoulda just gotten this out back then, huh? Things might be a lot different now..."

She looked up and bit her lower lip as she nodded in agreement. He said quietly, "But they still will be different.. I know what I'm getting into and I'm perfectly fine with it. I want all of it.. Just want you."

She nodded again, mostly still in shock as she said quietly, "And I want you too.. And all the craziness that comes with you." looking up at him, laughing a little when he pretended to pout.

From the house someone shouted out cake and Jacob smirked as he nodded to the house and said "Last one to the cake is not getting a corner piece. And I know how you love those corner pieces." which made her take off and try to pass him. He caught hold of her, his arms around her waist as he carried her indoors.

Maybe if they went from today forward and didn't try and lay things out perfectly, things would work out.. After all, Aria had made plans before.. And as a result, when those plans fell through, she found herself in the situation she was in currently.


	11. chapter eight iii - more fluffies

_|| CHAPTER NINE||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

* * *

Whoever called it morning sickness really should've come up with another name, Aria was beginning to think as she looked at the clock on her cell phone before bolting out of bed, running down the hallway and practically slamming the bathroom door shut behind her. From the other end of the phone she could hear Jacob asking if she were okay, he was probably freaking out of course, but she finished emptying the contents of her months food into the toilet bowl and weakly, she picked up the phone and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm fine, Jacob, no need to panic.. It's too damn late for you to be driving anyway, you gotta work tomorrow, remember?" before raking her hand through her hair, caressing her stomach.

By far, the morning sickness was the absolute worst part of all this. Everything else, she could handle. But she'd never actually been fond of throwing up, so that posed a problem, especially now that it seemed like all she wanted to do was throw up, round the clock, every day of the week with no break. She'd been alarmed at first but after her last doctors visit, the doctor reassured her that nothing was wrong, some mothers, especially first time mothers, seemed to get the worst end of the stick when morning sickness was concerned.

Jacob listened intently, using his keen shifter hearing to try and tell if she were still sick over there. It took everything he had, actually, not to drive over there, even though it was almost 1 am. He knew he should be letting her get off the phone, letting her sleep, but she seemed to think otherwise. They were still talking things out from their earlier conversation and he was slowly coming around to finding a way to tell her she was his imprint, that she belonged with him and he wasn't going anywhere contrary to what she seemed most afraid of. He chuckled and then said quietly, "We should both be asleep. Especially you, Aria."

"I know but..." Aria said quietly as she got back into bed, rolled over onto her back to try and get even a little bit comfortable. Horomones were apparently surging tonight, because she found herself lying there, wishing he was here with her and not on the other end of the phone line.. She scoffed at herself because.. she'd been the one to demand they go slow but suddenly, with this sudden surge of horomones, she wanted things to go much faster. They'd talked through everything that kept them apart in the past and Aria just felt like too much time was wasted already.. But she held back, because she felt like there was something he was holding back.

It worried her and she'd started several times to ask him if he were keeping anything from her, but she was just too damn afraid to bring it up. And truthfully? She'd rather him tell her whatever she felt it might be when he got ready to do so. She didn't want to start things off with him fighting and angry, or with secrets and worries.

"But what?" Jacob asked, the tone of his voice coming out huskier, he was lying in his room trying his best not to picture her in her room as they talked. It was really a test of his willpower, making himself stay here with her there.. She was in his reach now, not thousands of miles away. But he'd made her a promise about not rushing things and he was determined not to break that promise. Even though right now, more than anything, he was dying to do so. Things were going too slowly for him.

And he was nervous because he still had to tell her his biggest secret. About what he was and what he could do, and what she was to him.

"Nothing.. I mean I said it earlier.. Don't wanna rush things." Aria muttered as she bit her lower lip, her lips tingling at the memory (and anticipation of) the kisses they shared earlier when they'd started talking about all this. Her own words were really irritating her, but she knew for a fact that she couldn't just rush into this.. Not until she was absolutely sure he wasn't just doing all this, saying all this because he couldn't have her sister.

"And I understand.. What's wrong though?" Jacob asked as he chuckled to himself and shook his head, rolling over in his own bed, stretching his arms behind his head. She sounded like she were wishing she hadn't said that earlier, if he were reading the way she was acting right. Maybe she wanted them together as much and as badly as he did. The thought made him smile.

"I just.. Tonight I kinda wanna be held? It's the damn horomones, Jacob." Aria muttered as she bit her lower lip, mentally kicked herself for blurting out what she just had. She shifted in the bed so she could roll onto her side, prop against the pillow and on her elbow. When he chuckled about what she'd just said, she retorted "Oh haha, fucking hilarious."

"Aww, Aria.. I think it's cute." Jacob admitted as he stood and slid his jeans on, slid his feet back into the boots he wore often then said "Fuck it.. I'm coming over. I won't sleep because you're over there sick."

"Jacob, no.. You have to sleep and it's late." Aria tried to protest, only to have him insist that he'd be fine, he was a 'big boy' he could handle it. She hung up and bit her lower lip, lying there wondering what the hell she'd just gotten herself into.. They'd both agreed to slow.. Apparently, though, slow was the opposite of what it meant to most normal people with them.

She'd wanted him for so long now..

But she knew that rushing into this thing they were starting wasn't a good idea.. Yet she couldn't resist him well enough to not want to rush.. It was one hell of a dilemma to be caught in, actually.


	12. chapter nine i

_|| CHAPTER TEN||_

_Here..  
we've come to the end of our winding road  
no one knows..  
the reasons my eyes had til now been closed..  
still you constantly, openly, stripped of me my deepest love  
built on promises you never kept.. so just stay gone  
There you are.. broken.. fake it _

_- For The Taking, Blackout_

* * *

"What is it with you and this kinda stuff anyway?" Jacob asked Aria as he snuggled her against him on the couch in her father's den and the opening credits for American Horror Story came on. Aria shrugged and said "It's interesting, I don't know.. I just like dark and scary things, okay?" as she felt a shiver run down her spine when his lips grazed her ear. She rolled over on the couch to face him and smiled a little, stretched lazily as she admitted, "Apparently, the little one is going to turn me into a lazy blob of nothing."

"You need to rest. You're supposed to rest, woman, do you not get this concept? It's bad enough you have all this stress.." Jacob said as Aria nodded, he smooshed her against him and added quietly, "But the second that jerk makes a mistake and shows up here, Ari, you won't have to worry about him anymore. I'm serious, I'll kill him. And I don't think I'll be the only one because your dad was talking about killing him also, when he heard the voicemail that the guy left last night." while trailing his finger slowly across her lower lip. He leaned in a little, kissed her forehead as he asked in curiousity, "Did you ever find out why Bella called earlier?"

"She just said she needed to talk to you or to dad. We really don't talk much, you know that. Did she call you? She said she was going to try to. Kind of pissed me off, but hey.. No sense in saying something, she'll only pitch a fit like the spoiled brat she is. Passively agressively, of course." Aria said as she looked at Jacob, bit her lower lip.. Bella calling earlier only made her wonder if she weren't actually a replacement for her sister, who was married and living on some island or something with her husband, their kid and his family.

If Bella came back now, she'd probably stab her. She'd been through this crap before, she had no intention of being in the middle of their bizarre triangle yet again, and as a mother, she was not going to put her unborn child through it, either. If Jacob chose Bella, she'd just have to let him go.. At least with her giving him a chance now, she couldn't look back later in life and regret not trying to win his heart when she had the chance, she figured.. Because she wasn't too sure whether it was smart to be hopeful that he'd ever have Bella fully purged from his system. Not when she'd been a wedge and an addiction of his for so long now.

"She called.. I didn't answer." Jacob said as he chuckled and fluffed Aria's hair then said "You looked upset just now.."

"Not really, just thinking.." Aria started as she shook her head and said quietly, "It's nothing, just worried about my jackass ex showing up here.. Or Bella coming back.. I mean you know how I feel, I know how you say you feel but. If she came back, Jacob..."

"If she came back, I wouldn't give a damn, okay? Look at me." he said as he tilted her chin up to stare into her eyes as he said firmly, "I meant everything I told you. And I'm not gonna change my mind. Like it or not, you're stuck with me."

"I like it." Aria said as she kissed him cautiously, though it was less cautiously than it had been a week or two ago when they'd had that long talk about everything in the past, about how they both felt. "Good." he mumbled as he rested his chin on the top of her head, wrapped his arms around her, his left hand resting on her stomach. He heard her stomach growling and chuckled, teased her to say "Hungry?"

"Not me, the little one.. I don't want food.. Everything makes me sick.. Literally." Aria said with a laugh as Jacob raised to a sitting position then slid out from behind her, made his way into the kitchen.. He emerged a few minutes later with sandwiches, a big bag of cheetos and two glasses of tea. As he sat back down, he pulled her legs across his lap and then said quietly, "She called because she said she needs my help with something.. But I told her I could give a shit less what she needs. So she got upset and hung up on me."

"Did she say what?"

"Just that it had something to do with her kid. I don't know, I was tuning most of what she said out. Kinda happens when I'm thinking about you." he admitted as she laughed, shook her head and said "You look so grumpy when you say that."

"I'm not."

"Why are you grumpy then?" she asked jokingly, he nodded at the tv and said "Because this show, damn it. I don't get why you watch this crap." before taking a bite of his sandwich. She looked at him and said "And I don't get why you watch that one car rebuild show.. I mean you work in a garage, don't you get enough of it at work?" she asked as she took a bite of a cheeto, poked her tongue out. He chuckled and nodded then trailed his thumb across the bridge of her nose as he said "You had cheeto dust."

"Figures."

"You never learned how to eat and not make a mess did you?" he asked as he took a big bite of the sandwich, gave a low and sort of sexy growl at her as he said "I kinda think it's hot though.. I mean you actually eat and enjoy your food. It's annoying when a girl won't eat."

"You do, huh..." she said as he nodded and then settled her against him and said quietly "Don't let this thing with Bella worry you. I told you, I'm done.. If she shows up here, I'll tell her that too, gladly."

But deep down, Aria was worried that maybe the hold wasn't broken.. She knew how deep in Bella had gotten with Jacob.. because it'd killed her when she had to witness it. Was he really done with her?

She had to hope so, for her sake, because whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was head over heels in love with him all over again.


End file.
